


Let's Be Alone Together

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Episode: s05e08, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 12:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4606572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, you need silence after something awful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Be Alone Together

“Hey, suckerfish,” Matt says, coming up behind him.  “How are you feeling?”

Ben snorts at the familiar nickname.  “I’m okay, Matt.  How’re you?”

Matt sits down next to him and leans against him.  He shrugs a little.  “Glad you and Hal and Dad are okay.”

Ben wraps an arm around his little brother and decides to pull him into his lap even though his body still feels wrong.  God, he missed Matt.  “I’m glad you’re okay, too.  I heard you had quite the mission and that you were pretty brave about it.”

“I guess,” Matt says.

It’s then that Ben knows that there’s something wrong with Matt.  This mission is the kind of thing that Matt has been waiting for; he should be grinning and preening under the praise, especially because everyone is alright.

“Let’s go walk around.  I think there are a couple tall buildings that I can climb up with you on my back,” Ben says.  Matt always loves that.

“Are you sure?  Dad told me about your spike,” Matt says, looking at him with concern.  “Don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m okay,” Ben repeats.  “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“Maybe we can just go throw some rocks?” Matt asks, getting up.

“Sounds good,” Ben says. 

They walk to the edge of the base, around back so no one will run across them.  Together, they just sit on the ground and try to throw rocks over the top of the fence.  It’s easy for Ben, but Matt only gets it every once in a while. 

Ben loves his dad, he really does, but Dad always _needs_ to talk about everything.  Ever since he was a little kid, Dad would poke and prod him until he opened up about whatever was wrong.  It’s good sometimes, Ben admits, because he knows he has a tendency to withdraw deep into himself and his dad is the best at drawing him out.

And he knows that Hal always nudges Matt and makes him talk.  Hal has even tried it with Ben, but he spends most of his time and energy on Matt.  Ben gets it.  God knows Matt would never go to someone with his problems on his own, so it’s good for him too. 

But sometimes, they’re too much.  Too overwhelming.  Sometimes, it’s nice just to sit there and toss rocks over the fence.  There’s no pressure, no feeling that he has to talk or else he’ll disappoint someone.

Matt has just managed to throw a rock over the fence in a nice arc when he sighs loudly. 

Ben doesn’t look over at him, just keeps throwing rocks.  If Matt wants to talk to him, he will. 

“Why don’t you ever get scared?” Matt eventually asks. 

“What?” Ben asks.

“Why don’t you ever get scared?” Matt repeats.  “You plunged your arm into that thing, you’ve gone on all kinds of missions, and you never get scared.”

“What makes you think I never get scared?” Ben asks.  “I’m scared, like, all the time.  Scared for you, and for Dad, and for Hal.”

Matt huffs.  “You don’t have to be scared for me!  I’m tough, Ben.”

“I know you are,” Ben says, grinning over at him.  “So’re Dad and Hal.  But I still get scared for you all.”

“Whatever,” Matt says moodily, and Ben knows that he’s missed something.  “But you don’t get scared for yourself.  You’re just brave.”

“Of course I get scared for myself,” Ben says.  He launches a rock into the air with a little extra oomph.  “I was terrified when they took me to interrogate me and was terrified when they lined us up this morning.  Honestly?  I’m always scared when we meet new people.”  Never know when someone is going to zap you with a stun gun and strap you to a bed to rip you apart.

“But how do you, you know, deal with it?” Matt asks.

“You’ve just gotta push through it,” Ben says.  “You can still be terrified and brave at the same time.”

“You can?” Matt asks. 

“You know what Dad told me once?” Ben asks.

“What?” Matt responds.

“George Bernard Shaw said, ‘you can’t be a hero without being a coward.’  And I think it’s pretty true,” Ben says. 

“That’s dumb.  You can’t be a hero and a coward.  Dad and Hal and you aren’t cowards,” Matt says, throwing a rock against the fence angrily.  “You’re heroes but you’re not cowards.”

Ben nudges his brother a little.  “It means that if you’re not afraid of something, it’s not brave to overcome it.  Like, when I jump off a roof, it’s not brave, even though no one else here can do it.  Because I _know_ I can do it.  But when you do something hard?  Something you don’t think you can do?  That takes bravery.”

“It doesn’t feel brave,” Matt mutters. 

“I know,” Ben says.  “But that’s still what bravery is.  Sometimes you feel good after, sometimes you just feel glad it’s over.  _Most_ of the time you just feel glad it’s over, I think.”

“It’s dumb,” Matt sighs. 

“Yeah, I know,” Ben agrees.

“Let’s throw some more rocks,” Matt says.

“Sounds good,” Ben says.

They throw rocks until it’s dinnertime.


End file.
